High Voltage DC Test System 800 kV

• Subject Area: Electrical Energy Systems, Power Management, Power Electronics, Electrical Machines and Drives
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 498124141

The German power grid is undergoing a revolutionary transformation, with the replacement of large-scale feeders by remote renewable generation capacities leading to large transmission distances. Under the concept of "Smart Grid", additional medium and low-voltage grid areas are to be made more flexible and the electrical energy supply more efficient in order to provide a sustainable solution for the increasing energy demand and to guarantee the previous reliability of the energy supply. In a wide range of issues, the partial conversion or application of DC voltage seems to be a possible solution. Not only the transformation of energy systems, but also the increasing share of distributed feed-in and the use of DC devices in all voltage levels lead to the consequence of a gradual conversion from AC to DC supply. Based on the many years of experience in the area of alternating field stress, a direct transferability of the results with regard to stress under direct fields cannot be carried out. For this reason, the new forms of stress on existing but also on new types of resource-saving materials under the most diverse environmental stresses are of great importance for safe operation. Among other things, this change poses special challenges for the insulation systems of components in electrical power engineering. The service life of the components depends in particular on the condition of the insulating material used. Insulating solids have been used as insulating systems in components such as insulators, cables, joints, switching devices and installations, transformers and bushings for more than half a century under AC voltage. The experience and behaviour cannot be transferred to the application under DC voltage.For this reason, basic research under DC voltage stresses of materials (test equipment available) but also of components and arrangements (investment requirement necessary) is of great importance. The requested investment will supplement the outstanding equipment in the field of high voltage technology, which is extraordinary for universities of applied sciences, and equip it for further fundamental research tasks in the field of transformation to DC voltage applications, which is not currently given with the existing plant technology. Together with the applying colleagues, the work in the area of insulation coordination and in the area of developing new resource-saving insulation material systems is to be advanced. The investment is integrated into the current application project of the applicant, but also into the research environment of the university (LaNDER3, DC Competence Centre Kodersdorf T2DC, inter-faculty large-scale technical centre for cellular energy research).

• DFG Programme: Major Instrumentation Initiatives
• Major Instrumentation: Hochspannungsgleichspannungsprüfsystem
• Instrumentation Group: 2680 Spezielle Geräte für Hochspannungs- und Hochstromlaboratorien
• Applicant Institution: Hochschule Zittau/Görlitz
• Leader: Professor Dr. Stefan Kornhuber
• Co-Investigators: Professor Dr.-Ing. Uwe Schmidt; Professor Dr. Jens Weber